Food Service Workers

Food service workers include waiters (the term waiter refers to both male and female servers) of many different types, as well as counter attendants, dining room attendants, hosts, fast food workers, kitchen assistants, and others. These workers take customers' orders, serve food and beverages, make out customers' checks, and sometimes take payments. These basic duties, however, may vary greatly depending on the specific kind of food service establishment. There are nearly 12 million food preparation and serving related workers employed in the United States.

Opportunities exist in all regions, but are best in large, metropolitan areas with heavy tourist and business traffic

Education and Training

High School Diploma

Related School Subjects

English

Family and Consumer Science

Mathematics

Experience

Volunteer or part-time experience serving food

Skills

Interpersonal

Mechanical/Manual Dexterity

Organizational

Personality Traits

Hands On

Helpful

Outgoing

Licensure/Certification

Required

Special Requirements

Bartenders and sommeliers must be at least 21 years of age to serve alcohol; many states require food service workers to pass a physical examination and receive a certificate that confirms that they are not carriers of contagious diseases